Chlorine choking toxic chemical

Chlorine is a strong smelling, choking toxic chemical when inhaled. Concentrations as low as 10 parts per million are classified as irmnediately dangerous to life and health. Fortunately, the wind direction on that day carried the chlorine plume away from nearby residents. Nonetheless, hundreds of nearby residents were advised to shelter-in-place and 63 people from the area sought medical evaluation at the local hospital for respiratory distress. Three individuals were admitted for overnight observation. Traffic was halted on Interstate 55 for about one and a half hours [4],... 

Sodium is a soft, siivery metal.This metal cannot be handled with bare fingers, because it reacts with any moisture on the skin, causing a burn. Chlorine is a poisonous, greenish-yeiiow gas with a choking odor. When molten sodium is placed into an atmosphere of chlorine, a dramatic reaction occurs the sodium bursts into flame and a white, crystalline powder forms (see Figure 2.1). What is particularly interesting about this reaction is that this chemical combination of two toxic substances produces sodium chloride, the substance that we commonly call table salt. 

The use of phosgene gas by both sides continued for the rest of the war and caused the most fatalities from chemical warfare agents. Because of its lower water solubility compared with chlorine, phosgene was found to be more effective in producing a late onset of pulmonary oedema at lower concentrations. It was therefore more toxic than chlorine. It also caused immediate incapacitation due to its short latency upper respiratory tract actions ( irritant or choking ). 

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